The present invention relates to an aerosol inhalation interface and, in particular, it concerns a method and a device for the delivery of a flow of aerosol medication to a tidally breathing patient, while the patient is in a reclining position, with the device suspended above the patient's nose and mouth. The present invention further concerns a method for determining the effectiveness of inhalation therapy, while the therapy is in progress.
It is known that some inhalation therapy devices and methods require special breathing techniques, such as breathing in synchronization with a device or taking hard deep breaths. These techniques are impossible for some patients such as infants and very young children, patients with limited mental capacity, patients who are very weak, or patients with limited lung capacity.
It is further known that it is difficult to administer aerosol medications to infants and small children due to their shortened capacity to tolerate treatment.
It is further known that it is difficult to monitor or evaluate therapeutic effectiveness of treatments administered to infants and small children because they are unable to answer treatment related questions reliably or not at all.
There are further known devices that disguise a medication interface in a toy, such as a telephone (U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,063) or a puppet (U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,002). These devices are designed to attract the child's attention to the device, but do not increase their effectiveness.
There are further known devices for inhalation therapy that are attached directly to the child, such as masks and the apparatus claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,688. These devices may increase the effectiveness of medication delivery, however, they are cumbersome and may even be scary for infants and small children. This may affect the child's breathing during treatment and greatly decrease the effectiveness of the therapy.
There are further known devices that encapsulate the entire child, such as tents, or just their bead, such as hoods, so as to control the entire breathing environment. These devices require the environment to be sealed, which may take some minutes to accomplish and can use up some of the child's tolerance for treatment. These devices also require that they remain sealed throughout the treatment session. For some children, this may be difficult, and may interfere with calming parental contact as well as raise suffocation concerns due to CO2 retention in a sealed respiratory environment.
There is therefore a need for an aerosol inhalation interface that achieves effective medication delivery; is not scary, as is the case of devices that are attached directly to, or seal in, the patient; is quick and easy to use; allows for soothing parental contact during treatment; and is able to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the aerosol inhalation therapy.